Trip report: ORD->YYZ->TLV, Air canada

Hi Howard

"Howard Long" wrote in message
...
When I arrived at YVR on a
flight from FRA, there was a sign before reaching Canadian immigration
leading to "US departures". I was under the impression that if a
passenger
connects to a US flight he could by-pass Canadian immigration / customs.

Flights from YVR to the US are pre-cleared at YVR by US immigration
officers
rather than at the destination. So even for the most bureacratic scenario
it
would be a little silly to clear Canadian immigration and then 50 yards
further on clear US immigration.

Kind Regards, Howard

It may be silly, but it was set up that way as Canada was getting a number
of passengers at YVR who normally require a visa to enter Canada where
claiming that they were in transit to somewhere else when they boarded the
flight and therefor did not require a visa for Canada.. When they reached
YVR, they then claimed refugee status. So Canada requires all in-transit
passengers who normally require a visitor visa for Canada to obtain an
in-transit visa from a Canadian consulate overseas before boarding the
flight. So that's the reason for the set up now. Don't forget that YVR is
not just a transfer point for US bound flights, there are flights to other
non-US destinations.

PMM